Design of Check Digit Systems over an Arbitrary Alphabet

• Applicant: Dr.-Ing. Yanling Chen
• Subject Area: Electronic Semiconductors, Components and Circuits, Integrated Systems, Sensor Technology, Theoretical Electrical Engineering ; Mathematics
• Term: from 2015 to 2017
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 289322901

In 1970's, when Alan Haberman pioneered the use of a UPC barcode in his grocery business he kicked off not only a revolution in inventory management and the supply chain but also made a step towards the metadata overlays of physical items and information we now call the internet of things (IoT). Several decades later, numerous identification systems with one or more check digits (checking for transcription errors) have been developed and used in different business applications, serving as an indispensable and ubiquitous role in our daily life. Beyond all doubt, a smart choice of the check digit system will ensure not only the data integrity, but also reduces the ARQ demands and thus boost the efficiency of the information flow.In our preliminary work, we have developed codes with one check digit, which are demonstrated to be good candidates due to their enhanced error detection capability. As a continuation, the proposed research will focus on the development of the theory and practice of the check digits systems. To do that, we are not going to limit ourselves to the classical coding theory. Instead, we will exploit new possibilities based on matrix algebra and quasigroup operations. The ultimate goal is to establish code design methods, which are universal and constructive, and eventually provide an effective and adaptive solution to different application requirements. Interestingly, the results may find broad applications beyond the classical business fields, but also in some wireless communication scenarios.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants